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Dean DeBeltz is director of operations and safety for Twin Metals Minnesota. He is based in Ely.
As people gather for the Wild Waters Music Fest in Duluth’s Bayfront Festival Park today, there will be much conversation about what needs to be done to protect the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
As Twin Metals Minnesota’s proposed mine plan moves through the regulatory process, those of us who work in mining will be an important part of those conversations — not only because we, too, care deeply about the Boundary Waters but because we are committed to the health of the communities of Northeastern Minnesota, where our common future lives.
The Iron Range we know today was built on both mining and the wilderness. The forests of northern Minnesota have been home to mines and logging operations, outfitters and outdoor adventurers continuously for more than 130 years.
Those uses have coexisted, and, in fact, the people who worked the mines have been among the most enthusiastic defenders of the wilderness where they live. Twin Metals intends to build a mine that respects those values.
The Duluth Mineral Complex is one of the richest stores of copper, nickel, platinum-group metals, and cobalt in the United States. This is important because everybody uses these metals, and, as climate change compels us to move to low-carbon green technologies, the demand for these minerals continues to increase.
For the rest of this article: https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/opinion/columns/4610947-Local-View-Column-Lets-have-honest-conversations-about-copper-nickel-mining